Friday, November 18, 2016

Visit to the Volkswagen Chakan Plant

I have a special guest blogger, my younger bro Chirag who went for a one-of-a-kind blogger event hosted by the nice folks at Volkswagen. Here is his experience, written in his own words:

I had recently been to The Volkswagen Plant which is located
at Chakan, Pune. I would love to share the experience which was one of its
kind. Our Journey began with a hearty Breakfast with
Mr. Michael Mayer (Director, Volkswagen India) at DDB Mudra where he shared his
25 years’ insights of the automobile industry which was quite intriguing.

We left for the plant at 9:30 am and I got
my hands on the wheels too! Drove the Volkswagen Jetta all the way to Pune!

We reached Chakan at 12 noon and were provided refreshments
and were ready to witness the birth of beautiful German cars. We were provided Senheisser headsets which were necessary
because there was quite some noise inside the plant.

Exclusive VW Pune Plant Pictures

Here are certain facts about the Chakan Plant:

1. A workforce of
over 3,500 people was engaged in building it during its peak construction
stages.

4. The Pune plant
is one of the most modern in the Volkswagen Group. It has a high level of
vertical integration and a large share of local suppliers. The facility is the
only production plant operated by a German automaker in India that covers the
entire production process, from press shop through body shop and paint shop to
final assembly.

Checking the mean-machine out.

5. The facility
uses futuristically designed state-of-the-art equipment. For example, the body
shop uses the Diode Laser Brazing (DLB) technology, whereas the Roof & Side
Framer laser technology is used for welding the roof to the body of the car.
The facility is also one of the few environment-friendly manufacturing plants
around the area. For instance, the exhaust of the paint shop is re-burnt and
the resultant heat and energy is reused.

6. 130000 Cars
take birth yearly i.e 31 Cars/hour

7. There have
been 50000 Visits in 5 years

8. Each car has
4300 Welding Spots which make the car strong and rigid

Main components taking impact are marked or
coloured in red – Safety patch

Safety measures in
the VW cars:

1.Seatbelts

2.Child lock doors (Only Via a key)

3.Airbags

4.Anti-Lock Brake System

5.Electronic Stabilisation Control (ESC)

6.Traction Control System

7.Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD)

8.Parking Sensors

Standing Height Order Wise :p

It was a great learning overall, specially because I have a nephew I was quite interested in knowing the Kid's safety, which was their theme for Children's day.